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FER641FS0 Frigidaire Dryer - Instructions

All installation instructions for FER641FS0 parts

These instructions have been submitted by other PartSelect customers and can help guide you through the dryer repair with useful information like difficulty of repair, length of repair, tools needed, and more.

First thought the problem was a stretched drum belt or bad idler pulley. Ordered a new belt and idler assy plus spring. Replaced those items with relative ease following suggestions obtained at this site.However, problem persisted and I now suspected a bad drum bearing. Odered the bearing kit and replaced same using the following procedure.1. Removed the cover from the back of the dryer (held in place via two phillip head screws)2. Pushed down on the idler assy and removed the idler spring to release the drum belt.3. Inserted flat tip screwdriver between the top panel and the dryer main body in the front of the dryer to pry the top loose from the two retaining clips.4. used phillips screwdriver to remove the two retaining screws (one left, one right) that hold the front panel to the main body of the dryer. (about a foot down from the top of the dryer).5. disconnected the wiring plug on the top right hand side at the top of the dryer.6. lifted the front panel slightly removing it from the main body and placed it to the side.7. lifted the rear of the drum to release it from the bearing bracket and removed the drum belt.8. Pulled the drum through the front of the dryer body and moved it to an open work area.9. Reached into the Dryer and loosened the twobearing bracket screws with a nut driver. Here's where another pair of hands would have come in handy. Holding the ground bar on the back of the drum with on hand, reached into the dryer and finished removing the bracket screws somehow managing not to drop the tiny grounding ball (size of a BB) Removed the badly damaged plastic bracket, grounding bar, and grounding ball and setthem aside to be discarded later.10. Used impact driver with phillips attachment to remove two of the three screws that hold the bearing to the back of the drum (these are on the inside) The third screw's head stripped out and I had a very difficult time removing it. Had it not been for that, the job would have taken less than an hour.11. I had my wife hold the bearing in place while I started the three retaining screws. 12. My wife also got behing the dryer and held the grounding bar in place while I installed the new bearing bracket . (this kept me from loosing the grounding ball)I just reversed the rest of the procedures to install the drum belt, drum, front panel, etc.The dryer works like new now, doesn't squeal.Also replaced the on/off switch knob (just pulled the old one from the stem and slid the new one on.

Loud Squeaking

1. Unplug dryer from outlet2. Using Lg. flat screwdriver, pry under the front edge of the top and release two spring tabs3. Lift up top and tilt back out of your way4. Unscrew two phillips scews on inside of front panel5. Lift up and out the front panel. Two spring clips at bottom.6. Rlease tension on drum belt at the motor. Access panel at rear of dryer.7.Unscrew 3 screws from inside, center rear of drum.8. Remove drum through the front of the dryer. You may have to spread the sides apart a little bit for it to fit9. Lift up on the rear drum bearing to remove it from the bearing retainer. ( U shaped plastic socket)10. unsrew 2 screws and remove the bearing retainer, ground ball. Ball retainer is on outside of dryer.11. Vacuum everything--duct, blower, lint trap, ect.12. Intall new bearing retainer and grounding ball, an assistant is helpful at this time, one to hold ball retainer on rear of dryer, one to screw it in from the inside13. reassemble remainder of parts in reverse order.

Unplugged Dryer.Opened top of Dryer, over the drum.Removed Thermal Limiter.Tested the Thermal Limiter - found it was open.Checked all vents and exhaust tube for lint build-up.Replaced Thermal Limiter.Closed top of dryer.Plugged Dryer back.Tested Dryer - it works.

I could tell the motor was bad, because when I tried to spin the drum by hand, it wouldn't turn in any direction. (Normally it can turn fairly easily.)

(Helpful hint: As you remove screws / parts, place them in a plastic baggie, and write on the baggie from whence they came. This is especially helpful if you have to order parts and then wait a few days for them to arrive.)

You can replace the starter motor without removing the drum, but it is easier if you do remove the drum. Plus, I decided to also replace the drum belt, since it was 9 years old and is a wear part.

UNPLUG THE DRYER BEFORE YOU BEGIN.

1. Pop off the top cover; it has two spring clips at the front, then it hinges up. Disconnect the green grounding wire at the back, then slip the cover off the hinges and set it aside.

2. Remove the front panel:

a. Looking down into the dryer, disconnect the electrical harnesses that go between the front controls and the body. You may have to cut a nylon cable tie to access one or more. (Note that they have shapes that won't allow you to mix them up later). Also, there are two wires that attach to connectors in the top middle of the dryer, which are difficult to get at; you may need a needle nose pliers to pull them. Remember their color-coding for reinstallation.

b. Remove the two phillips screws located about 8 inches from the top, on either side, inside the body, that hold the front panel in place.

c. The front panel is now held in place by spring clips. Pry it gently to pop it loose. It will hinge out, then you can pull it up. Notice how the front piece has felt pads that serve to hold the front of the drum; you'll line it up the same way when it goes back together. Set the front panel aside.

3. Remove the rear motor vent plate. a. It is at the back, lower right of the dryer (which is lower left once you're behind it). 2 phillips screws hold it in place.

b. Now look inside to see the motor and belt. Memorize how the belt feeds around the motor pulley and the larger, white plastic tensioner pulley. Notice how the rear motor bearing sits in a half-round metal plate, held down by a spring clip. (Make a drawing if you like.)

c. Move the spring- loaded tensioner arm to take tension off the belt, then slip the belt off the motor pulley.

d. Notice that the tensioner pulley, arm and spring are all held in place by the spring. Note that the tensioner pulley can slip off its shaft. Note these things for when you put it all back together later.

e. Now undo the tensioner arm spring and remove the arm, pulley and spring. Set them aside.

4. Remove the drum:

a. There is a yellowish plastic block at the top front of the open dryer body that holds the drum. Take it out with a phillips screwdriver.

b. Slip the now un-tensioned belt off the drum, to the back, so it hangs over the heater element body. You can leave it there for now, so you don't forget to install it before you put everything back together. If you're going to replace the belt, now is a good time to do so. (Check the length of the new belt against the old one, to make sure they're the same.)

c. Now you can remove the drum. It uses a center ball in a socket joint at the back to hold it in place. Use a screwdriver to lever upward on the back of the drum. This will pop the ball up, and then you can pull the drum out from the front.

5. Clean it up. Now is a very good time to vacuum out any lint in the fan area, inside the dryer body, etc. Also consider removing the lint trap assembly from the dryer front ( 2 phillips screws) and vacuuming it out as well.

6. Remove the motor.

a. First, remove the fan that's attached to the front of the motor. Use a socket (7/8", I think) to unscrew the fan from the front of the motor shaft. IMPORTANT: The fan has a plastic hex nut sh

I found a electrical diagram and some common problems on some websites which led me to check the thermal limiters. There are two right up top near the back of the dryer - one mounted closer to the heating coils and one mounted directly to the sheet metal on the inside back of the dryer. Using an DMM on the "Ohms" setting, I checked each sensor to make sure that they were "closed" (near zero ohms). Sure enough, the sensor mounted on the back of the enclosure was open (high resistance) which prevented the dryer from starting. To confirm, I shorted the two leads going to the sensor together temporarily and wrapped them with electrical tape and then tested the dryer - it worked perfectly. The part from Part Select was ordered and shipped very quickly. Since the sheet metal screws holding the sensor on were difficult to access with the drum in place, I used small machine screws/nuts to fasten the sensor - this allowed me to tighten the nuts from the outside of the dryer, making it very easy to attach.

burned out heating element

I unlatched top panel then removed two screws holding front panel on. I then lifted drum out of hanger to make room to remove element. Disconnect wires to limit switch and element. I then removed four screws on back of dryer that hold the pan. I removed old assembly and replaced with new one. Assemble in reverse.

For the glide, I want to advise people that to replace the entire glide you need to order two front drum glide parts as each is only half.

First, unplug the dryer. Then, open the top so that you can get access to the work area. On each side of the inside front, there is a screw that connects the front panel to the side panels. Unscrew those screws and pull the front panel until it disconnects from the side panels. Be careful as there are wires that are secured to the bottom of the top inside lip of the front panel. One set of wires goes to the light bulb in the dryer door. You don't need to disconnect the wires, but be sure you don't damage the wires by pulling the front panel too far away from the dryer.

Once you have the front panel out of the way, you can see the front drum glide. In my case, one half was loose as the plastic plugs that pop into recesses to hold the glide in place had broken off. Remove the damaged glide section and replace it with the new section, popping the plastic plugs into the recesses. Don't be afraid to slap the glide to lock the plugs in place.

For the felt, I cut the part of the old felt that was pulling away from the front panel. I then used a flat-head screwdriver and wire brush to remove as much of the old adhesive as I could. Then, using the high-heat adhesive that came with the new felt, I put a generous amount on the front panel where the felt needed to go. I used a toothpick to spread the adhesive to get maximum area coverage. I let it set for a minute or two, and then placed the new felt. I used small clamps to keep the felt in place until the adhesive had time to bond. I only kept the clamps in place for 10 minutes.

Once I removed the clamps, I let the felt continue to adhere to the front panel for 24 hours before reassembling the dryer. Again, be careful of the wires connected to the front panel as it appears very easy for them to be pinched or cut when putting the front panel back in place.

When the dryer was reassembled, I plugged it back in and have had no more troubles.

The high pitch squeel was the result of a failing drum bearing. It was particularly evident when first turning on the dryer, but became softer as the dryer heated up. In order to replace the drum bearing, I removed the top panel and front door panel.

The top panel was easily taken off by removing 2-screws from the back edge of the panel, and sliding it back to release it from the front panel seam.

The front panel is more involved, but still relatively easy for your average "do-it-yourselfer". I removed the front door panel by first removing the control panel (4-screws; 2 on top and 2 from the back of the panel). I removed 2 cable assemblies from the control panel via connecters (different sizes so didn't need to mark) and 2-wires attached to the large control panel mode selector (I marked these 2-wires). I set aside the control panel. I removed the front door panel by taking off 6-screws (2 on top, 2 on the bottom, and the remaining 2 on the inside of the panel on either side of the drum). After removing these 6-screws, I carefully pulled the front door panel away from the front of the dryer, carefully releasing 4-alignment latches (2 on either side). The front door panel was still electrically attached to the machine so I had to disconnect a couple more wires. I carefully disconnected 2-wires from the door light assembly and 3 more wires from the door switch (I marked the 3-wires on the door switch). I set aside the front door panel.

From the back of the dryer, I removed the small motor access panel on the bottom left corner. This panel also provides access to the drum belt. I released the drum belt from the motor drive wheel by releasing spring tension at the tensioner. The belt can easily be disconnected from the motor drive wheel and tensioner assemblies.

Removal of the drum was now possible. With the front door panel removed, the front of the drum is maintained in place via a small plastic stop on the top crossmember. I removed this stop prior to removing the drum. With one hand, carefully grabbing the belt that is was loosely draped across the back of the drum, and the other hand holding the front lip of the drum, I provided a quick and forceful upward motion to the back of the drum in order to dislodge the drum shaft from the bearing housing assembly. Once this was accomplished, I simple pulled the drum out of the dryer housing via the front of the machine.

I replaced the drum shaft on the drum via the 4-screws accessed on the drum rear panel.

I removed the old bearing/bearing housing via the 2-screws holding it in place. I wasn't too concerned about loosing the small ball bearing as the kit provided me a new one. I generously applied some high-temperature grease to coat the interior lining of the new bearing housing. I also placed a dab on the back seat where the new ball bearing sits. This helped hold the bearing in place while reattaching it. I reinstalled the bearing housing to finish replacing the repair parts.

Reassembly of the drum is in the reverse order. I paid particular attention to making sure the new drum shaft properly seated with the new drum bearing housing.

After reinstalling the drum and while the front door panel was still off the dryer, it was easy to inspect the blower housing. I found the squirrel cage had broken loose from the molded nut that attaches it to the motor shaft. That would explain the heat problem; the heat was not being exhausted through the duct.

THE SQUIRREL CAGE IS REVERSE THREADED. I was unable to remove the nut from the motor shaft as the design encompasses a metal bushing molded into a plastic nut shaped form. The plastic would not hold up to the force I was applying trying to loosen the squirrel cage. So I ended up removing the entire motor and blower housing assembly from the base

The most-used control knob on the face of the dryer wore out.

After entering the info on the dryer into the PartSelect site, it brought up a list of parts, and a diagram showing where all parts go on the dryer.Clicking on the knob description brought up a photo which proved beyond a shadow of doubt that this was the correct part. At a cost of $5, who wouldn't pay for the expedited freight also? For 6 months we've kept the pliars on top of the dryer to use in place of the worn out knob. Don't lose the address to this site. Jim

1) Removed Top Dryer Cover (pushed 2 compression clips on front side 1" from top and 2" in from each side) to gain access to terminal block in rear. 2) Removed 2 screws over terminal block cover and 2 screws holding bad terminal block in place. Removed 3 screws holding bad power cord, 3) Removed good terminal connectors from bad terminal block and reinstalled them in the new terminal block. 4) Cut dryer wire from bad terminal block connector and soldered (optional) them to the new terminal block connector. Installed this connector into the new terminal block. 5) Installed new terminal block in dryer with 2 screws. 6) Installed new power cord on new terminal block ensuring contacts were tight and cord had pull guard properly installed. Reinstalled terminal block cover with 2 screws. 7) Reinstalled Dryer Top Cover.